The Undertaker: buried but not forgotten

The one and only true legend of all of pro wrestling, the Undertaker.

Currently, the entire wrestling fandom is in a state of mourning over the official end of an era…an era like no other in the annals of pro wrestling. The Undertaker, the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, retired from professional wrestling at WrestleMania 33.

Some people have argued that this shouldn’t be that much of a shock. After all, the Undertaker had basically been a part-timer, coming back for only a handful of appearances per year, since 2010. While that is indeed true, there was always this underlying feeling that despite being a part-timer, the Undertaker was still technically an active wrestler. As such, there was always that ‘one more time’ feeling with him, even after the Streak ended in 2014.

But now, that feeling is gone. WrestleMania ended following an extended segment featuring the Undertaker doing things that painted an unmistakable picture of his retirement. He left his gloves, coat and hat in the ring. He went to his wife Michelle McCool who was at ringside and kissed her, an obvious sign of breaking kayfabe from the man whose dedication to his gimmick had been his calling card for decades.

It was evident: the Undertaker as a wrestler is no more.

To commemorate both this event and his career as a whole, today we’ll look at his body of work, and why the Undertaker as a wrestling character means so much to so many people.

Undertaker was the perfect example of adaptability and change in WWE.

A storied career

By November 22^nd, 1990, the then-WWF was in the midst of a shift in identity. To combat the wrestling-centric WCW, WWF became the dwelling place of larger-than-life characters and gimmicks that made the performers in the ring look like something out of a fable. But not all of these ideas were great, especially once it shifted to the ‘careers-as-wrestlers’ approach.

Among the various gimmicks, there was: a wrestling garbage man, a hockey player, a dentist, a dancing man named Koko B. Ware, the list goes on. What all these wrestlers had in common was that they were cartoonish and overly-childish in presentation.

Then the exception appeared.

Appearing to the sound of an ominous funeral dirge, the Undertaker was an awesome sight to behold. The perfect combination of natural attributes and Vince McMahon’s creative genius, the Undertaker’s impact was instantaneous. Fans everywhere were chilled by his entrance, and his look scared younger audience members. He had barely started wrestling full-time, and he was already the talk of the town.

Although he started off as a monster heel, by 1991, that had changed entirely. Due to the sheer awesomeness of his character, the fans began to cheer him by the time he clashed with Hulk Hogan, one year after his WWF debut. It was an incredible thing to witness, as this monster heel had become one of the most popular wrestlers in WWF.

The Undertaker had done everything there was to do for years and kept coming back. He had been to the top of the mountain several times, winning multiple championships and headlining more PPVs than arguably any other wrestler before or since.

Also read: WWE and the pro wrestling fraternity pay their tributes to The Undertaker

It isn’t hard, then, to see how he became such a mythical figure. While guys like ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena might’ve been more financially lucrative for WWE, and while guys like Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels might’ve been better grapplers, the Undertaker still managed to work with all of them and put on one masterpiece of a match after another. He adapted over time to keep himself fresh and always managed to stay relevant, even as the wrestling business evolved in drastic ways at times.

In fact, the closest he ever came to being considered ‘irrelevant’ was in 2001, when he was teaming with Kane during the Invasion storyline. For the rest of his career, he was a main-event-level wrestler. That’s a longer run at the top than anyone in modern wrestling history.

Undertaker’s loyalty to WWE is one of his greatest virtues.

A legacy of loyalty

The Undertaker has been employed with WWE and considered an active wrestler since 1990. Twenty-seven years! He has literally been through five or more different ‘eras’ and has probably wrestled hundreds of different opponents. Despite all of that, he has remained omnipresent in WWE. It was as if time wasn’t affecting him in any way, which made so many people convinced that the Undertaker was never going to leave.

In fact, there had been conversations among wrestling insiders regarding the Undertaker retiring as far back as 1999. But each time the thought of him retiring seemed to gain steam, he came back and proceeded to have even more great matches. Even by the 2010s, it was clear that he was going to stay loyal to WWE, no matter how much of a toll it took on his body.

No matter how much he got hurt, or how much pain he was in, or how profitable it might’ve been for him to sign with another company or do something else, the Undertaker stayed with WWE. Even after so many other wrestlers turned their backs on Vince McMahon, the Undertaker was ever loyal. This made him someone to look up to, someone for everyone watching, regardless of age, to try and be. He was someone that was respected no matter what because he respected others in the same way.

It was amazing how he managed to take this initially-cheesy gimmick and make it work to perfection.

A once-in-a-lifetime gimmick

The Undertaker’s gimmick has been an essential piece of many a childhood. His unique look, supernatural ambience, and supposed godlike powers have all become symbolic of pro wrestling as a performance art piece. Despite being campy at times, the Undertaker’s gimmick and allusions to the supernatural were the perfect ways for fans to truly suspend their disbelief. More than anyone before or since, the Undertaker has become synonymous with WWE and professional wrestling in general.

There were many reasons why the Undertaker has become such a beloved gimmick. His supernatural powers and seeming immortality made him a certified badass. Over the decades, he has been punished, attacked, and presumably destroyed more times than any other character. And every time someone thought they had won, he kept coming back. Because he was simply that powerful. It’s no wonder that the sound of his ‘gong’ would elicit a thunderous ovation every time it was heard.

The Undertaker became arguably a bigger embodiment of awesomeness than any other WWE Superstar before or since. He wrestled through some of the most vicious match stipulations ever seen. He challenged and defeated every big name conceivable throughout his career. He managed to put on some of the craziest matches possible. And for twenty-one years, he was undefeated at WrestleMania.

No other wrestler can ever hope to achieve what the Undertaker has done. Heck, WWE could make someone a 100-time World Champion, and it won’t have even a fraction of the significance of the Undertaker’s career. He achieved so much and had such a significant impact on the wrestling business that he is now revered as a real treasure, something that’s completely irreplaceable.

The only reason the Undertaker’s gimmick lasted so long is because the man behind it has been willing to go to the greatest of lengths to preserve it. His social media presence is virtually nonexistent. He rarely photographs himself in situations that contradict his character. He has even appeared in public situations in full costume, as cheesy as it might’ve looked.

We’re now entering an age where gimmicks are long since dead (pardon the pun). Wacky, larger-than-life characters do not exist in the same way as they did when the Undertaker first debuted. Nowadays, wrestlers are basically individuals with unique personality quirks that help them stand out. Supernatural gimmicks are few and bar between (wth Bray Wyatt being the only exception).

Despite protecting his gimmick, the Undertaker has always tried to find ways to give back to his fans.

A fantastic person:

As the years went by, the Undertaker became the measuring stick for pro wrestling, not just in terms of keeping his gimmick fresh, but also his behaviour outside of the ring. Although secrets about the wrestling business were still kept that way during the 1990s, information and rumours about backstage happenings began to surface bit by bit. And all of them, it seemed, painted the Undertaker in a positive light.

There have been hundreds, if not thousands of shoot interviews conducted by former WWE superstars, and not a single one of them has ever had anything bad to say about the Undertaker the man or the gimmick. He has always been something of a virtuous man: loyal to the company, a peacemaker in backstage conflicts, willing to provide advice to younger talent, and dedicated to his gimmick. These are all behaviours that should be praised, especially given that few others, if any, have come even close to cultivating such a reputation for themselves.

Stories have circulated over some of the great things the Undertaker has done to help the company. He has kept coming back for years because he knows younger wrestlers will make more money on a show on which he appears. He has worked with younger guys that have needed a high-profile win and has been willing to help their careers grow more often than not. He even wrestled in an Elimination Chamber match after being burned in a pyrotechnics accident. Indeed, his willingness to do whatever was necessary to preserve his gimmick is incredible...which is another reason why he’ll be missed so deeply.

His personality and Fonz-like attitude backstage have become something of a secondary gimmick to him. He seems to be such a good person in real life, and that has translated in how he carries himself backstage.

While many fans have enjoyed the Undertaker for his on-screen gimmick, just as many have enjoyed hearing stories about him being the kind of person they’d want to be. Wrestling won’t be the same without him, considering that there isn’t a single person active now that commands such reverence and respect as the Undertaker.

Is this the end?

As of this writing, there has not been a 100% confirmation that the Undertaker has indeed retired. The last we saw of him, he broke kayfabe and kissed his wife at ringside. He left the items symbolic of his character in the ring and descended back through the mist from whence he had come.

There has not yet been a formal announcement of his retirement; but given his dedication to the old school mentality, he probably won’t even have one. In all likelihood, what we saw at WrestleMania was indeed the swan song for the character that is the Undertaker.

Many people, myself included, are treating this as the true end of a fantastic story that has touched our hearts more than we could’ve ever known. Through his incredible career, we’ve got to witness the best WWE had to offer, and for over twenty-five years, it was awesome.

There will never be another Undertaker or even anyone remotely similar. He’s the only wrestler whose signature ‘gong’ sound can send tens of thousands of fans into a frenzied cheer. He became the greatest big man wrestler of all time by re-defining what it means to be a ‘big man’. He has seen, fought, and defeated the best.

And for over twenty years, he was the one that made millions of fans of different ages cheer with delight and bring many lasting moments of joy to their lives. And his career is over.

While his career is indeed over, it will live forever in our hearts and memories. He’s a character that we’ll be telling our children and grandchildren. He’s a legend that, in time, will become a fable worth recounting over and over.

The Undertaker’s career might be dead and buried, but he will never, EVER, be forgotten.

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